Biblical Reasoning

The Gospel Coalition 2022 Book Award Winner (Academic Theology)

Southwestern Journal of Theology 2022 Book of the Year Award (Honorable Mention, Hermeneutics/Bible Reference/Biblical Backgrounds)

Biblical Reasoning shows how Christology and the doctrine of the Trinity are grounded in Scripture and how knowledge of these topics is critical for exegesis. It focuses on the continuity of Scripture's judgments with later doctrinal formulations, promoting a mutually informative relation between exegesis and theology born from attention to Scripture's primary acting subject: God revealed in Christ.

The authors explain that evangelical theology still maintains too sharp a divide between reading Scripture and formulating doctrine. A necessary means for overcoming this divide is attending to the grammar of Scripture's speech about Christ and the Trinity. Biblical Reasoning outlines key theological principles and rules for the exegesis of Christian Scripture. The authors explore how the triune God revealed in Christ shapes Scripture and its readers and how doctrinal rules intrinsic to Scripture help guide exegesis. The goal of biblical reasoning is the goal of Scripture itself: to shape readers into disciples who pursue the vision of the triune God in Christ.

Biblical Reasoning helps readers understand that theology should be more exegetical than many theologians think, and that exegesis should be more theological than many exegetes allow. It enables students to integrate what they learn in their biblical studies and systematic theology classes, making it an ideal textbook for hermeneutics and interpretation courses.